If you need more information than these guidelines can provide, please see the unofficial manual / FAQ document provided by Tomaquinaten at https://users.dict.cc/tomaquinaten/. It is not up to date anymore -- if there are contradictions, please follow the guidelines.

Subjects

In addition to these tags other short clarifying comments in square brackets, such as "[derb]" or "[rare]" are permitted, too. When using an abbreviation not listed here, it must be absolutely clear in its meaning, otherwise it has to be written out in full.

General Information and Guidelines

This applies to all language pairs. See language-specific information below. In case of questions please ask Paul!

You are invited to contribute to dict.cc by adding new and verifying existing translations. Just try it, even without registration - you cannot do any harm! Every entry has to be checked by several users and an integrated rights management system enables users to gain more voting power over time, according to the quality of their previous votes. Have a look at the system: https://contribute.dict.cc/

Each translation of a word is a separate entry within dict.cc. This is necessary to avoid duplicate entries.
Don't change a correct translation only because you know a better one. Post the better one as a new entry instead.

forum Exception: For longer entries (5+ words per language) it's okay to contain a variation of short words that don't change the meaning: to be devastating to / for sth. would be acceptable as one entry (please use spaces before and after the slash in this case).
Also acceptable as one entry: kitten cowrie / cowry [Melicerona felina, syn.: Cypraea felina, C. felina felina, Palmadusta felina] (scientific names in brackets are included in the word count, they count for both languages).

RULE OF THUMB
Always confirm the first correct posting!
It only has to be correct. If it's not the best possible version a better translation can be posted as a new entry.
An entry is correct only if it is correct in both form and content, so it can be verified without modification.

FINE PRINT / DETAILS
If the proposed entry is not the most usual translation of an entry, but is not wrong, please vote to confirm it.

In case of several correct variants within an entry under discussion (different votes), vote for the version posted first, unless the only difference to the first version is a clarifying comment in square brackets (this doesn't cause outvotes).

A [del] vote is considered a correct posting if no previous posting (input, vote or comment) contained a correct version of the entry and the entry can't be corrected just by adding or changing information in square brackets or by correcting simple spelling, punctuation and/or formatting errors. A [del] vote for lack of documentation only is not binding.

In case of duplicate entries, confirm the one posted first, improve it in case of errors and delete the one posted later.

dict.cc also includes a function to split translations. This should be used sparingly to avoid creating duplicate entries.

Example abbreviation:Abkürzung {f} <Abk.> .............. would be found for the keyword "Abk"Example comment:Vorschneider {m} [Gewinde] ... would not be found for the keyword "Gewinde"
(To still find this entry for the keyword "Gewinde" you can search for the term in square brackets: "[Gewinde]")

When searching for "Abkürzung" or "Vorschneider", these examples would be treated as one-word entries, so they would be listed on top of the search results pages. If the brackets were round, the examples would be treated as two-word entries, listed further below.

Square brackets are used for disambiguations, explanations, usage hints or to add prepositions to one-word entries as in fähig [zu], Gefahr {f} [für] or capable [de].

forum If a word, especially a pejorative one, does not have a translation on the same level of language, use an explanation in square brackets. Example: Musel {m} [ugs.][pej.] ....... [derogatory term for Muslim]

forum Multiple abbreviations are written within one pair of angle brackets, as in Tuesday <Tue., Tu.>.
Don't add comments, such as "less frequent" within angle brackets!

Inflected words (plurals, superlatives, conjugations, ..., except gender-specific forms of adjectives) can be entered as translations if the inflected forms directly correspond with each other. The entries gone ... gegangen or houses ... Häuser {pl} would be okay.

As a rule, the basic forms (lemmata, like "to go", "house") should be entered before inflected forms. For inflected forms it's sufficient to have only a few (the most important) translations. The basic form can vary from language to language (usually it's the infinitive, but, for example, Bulgarian verbs will have the first person form of the present tense). If you're unsure about what the basic form is, you can always post a question in the forum. In case an entry has no basic form, its variants should be entered into the dictionary as separate entries.

The connections between the different forms ("go, went, gone") are not part of the translation entries themselves, they are stored using a separate function of dict.cc. See the menu item "Inflections" for more.

GENDER TAGS
Nouns are assigned to the "noun" class automatically if a gender or plural tag is inserted.
That's why gender tags - {f}, {n}, {pl}, {ж}, {m.pl}, ..., anything in curly brackets - should only be used with nouns.

In case of expressions consisting of multiple nouns, use the gender tag only for (and immediately after) the grammatically dominant noun, e.g. bicchiere {m} da vino (plural: "i bicchieri da vino").
If there isn't a single grammatically dominant noun, as in "Hinz und Kunz", "Umarmungen und Küsse" or "Wartung, Reparatur und Instandsetzung", don't use gender tags and set the word class to "noun" manually.

PLURAL / SINGULAR TAGS
For nouns in languages without grammatical gender, such as English, Hungarian or Turkish, use {pl} and {sg} in the respective field to denote plural or singular if unusual or different from the grammatical number in the other language.
If both languages in the pair have no grammatical gender, use the tags when the grammatical number is not the same on both sides.
For collective nouns, such as headquarters, that can be used either as singular or plural depending on the point of view, add [treated as sg. or pl.]. If a noun which is plural in form is always treated as singular, such as cryogenics, use [treated as sg.]. Adding {pl} or {sg} is not necessary in these cases.

MULTIPLE GENDER TAGS
If a noun can carry multiple grammatical genders while keeping the same meaning, add all tags in a row: Teil {m} {n}.
If a noun's meaning or context differs according to the gender used, use separate entries:electricista {m} - electrician
electricista {f} - electrician [female]

(In some languages, all nouns belonging to one grammatical gender also belong to another (e.g. Norwegian feminine). This specific gender carries the tag {m/f} to indicate that they can be regularly used with grammatical endings specific to both feminine and masculine nouns.)

NOMINALIZATION (Substantivierung)forum Nominalized words (verbs, adjectives, adverbs used as nouns) are usually added in their indefinite (ein/eine) forms: Echter {m}, Echtes {n}, Echte {pl}. The dict.cc word class for these entries is "noun".
In cases where the definite form is different from the indefinite, it can be added as a new entry in definite form, including the article: das Außergewöhnliche {n} - lo nunca visto {n}, das Wichtigste {n} - the main thing

MANUAL CLASSIFICATIONforum If a gender tag can't be applied to a specific noun entry, the entry should be classified as a noun manually. forumNouns used attributively are classified as "adj" and tagged with the additional comment "[attr.]".

forum Verbs and verb phrases (verbs with compliments or modifiers, which together function syntactically as a verb) should be entered in the infinitive (or corresponding dictionary form) and assigned to the "verb" class. Don't use this class for inflected verb forms like the past tense, the imperative or the present and past participles.

There is no further formal classification of verbs on dict.cc.forum However, in all new or re-opened entries, transitive and reflexive verbs should be entered together with an abbreviated object like "sth.", "jdm.", "qn.", "jdn./etw.", "etw. [Akk.]", "oneself", "sich" or an example object. Verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive should include the placeholder in parentheses, as in "compter (qc.)".

ADJECTIVES, including nouns and participles used as adjectives, have to be assigned to the class "adj". When adjective and adverb forms are identical on both sides, both classes can be assigned, otherwise separate entries must be made.
Additional grammar information can optionally be given using one of the following comments:
-- [attr.] for adjectives used only before nouns they modify and which cannot be used after verbs of being or becoming;
-- [postpos.] for adjectives used only after nouns they modify or verbs they accompany;
-- [pred.] for adjectives used only after verbs of being or becoming.

PARTICIPLES in addition should be classified as "pres-p" or "past-p", according to their tense.

ADVERBS, PREPOSITIONS, CONJUNCTIONS AND PRONOUNS have to be classified manually (adv, prep, conj, pron). forum The "adv" tag is used for adverbs and adverbial phrases, but not for adverbial clauses (adverbiale Nebensätze).
The "prep" tag is used for prepositions and adpositions in general, including adpositional phrases.Interjections and exclamations should be classed "[none]".Gender in pronouns can be indicated by using the appropriate gender abbreviation in square brackets, e.g. [f], [n], [pl], [ж], [m.pl], ..., Don't use curly brackets, these are reserved for nouns!

OTHER WORD CLASSES
Entries that do not belong to any specific word class (part of speech, lexical category), such as whole sentences, examples and fixed expressions, as well as cardinal numbers, should be marked with "[none]".

Up to three subjects can be assigned to each entry. The assignment can be changed by reasonably experienced users (>50 votes) anytime. This change is visible immediately, without approval from other users.
There is a fixed catalog of subjects, changeable only after discussion in the contribute section of the forum.
If a translation entry could be assigned to more than three subjects, please either use no subject at all, or only the widest and most typical ones.

Names and titles of works of fiction (cinema, television, literature, music, ...) - as well as fictional characters or places - should be included in the subject [F] to separate them from other entries. This includes all book titles (not just fiction).
Only terms of general interest should be added.

If one of the languages of the pair is the original language of the work's title, please also include the name of the author (director) of the work of fiction on that side. If the original title of the work of fiction is in a third language, you may include the author's name on either side.

LATIN NAMES are not required, but when added they have to be placed in the left column, within square brackets [].

forumUPDATE/CHANGE 2013-09-05
CHEMICAL FORMULAS are not required, but when added they have to be placed in the left column, within square brackets [].
Only single elements from the periodic table like <Fe> and commonly used abbreviations like <CO2> are considered abbreviations to be enclosed in angle brackets.

forum Preferred form: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./...][standard term]
Existing variants that don't need to be changed: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./... für/for: standard term]
The following form is ambiguous and should be avoided: non-standard term [ugs./obs./pej./...: standard term]

Use:tumbrel [obs.][ducking stool] ... Means that "tumbrel" is obsolete, and there is another word for it.Don't use:tumbrel [obs.: ducking stool] ... It's not clear to everyone which one of the words is meant to be obsolete.

forum Please verify recordings that are pronounced correctly, are clearly audible, conform to the text displayed and are on native speaker level (regardless of actually being a native speaker). Please do not regard your own intonation as the only one possible. Noises inaudible or almost inaudible with medium-quality speakers (headphones) are not a reason for deletion.

Different accents are welcome, as each word can be recorded by several users. Ideally, each word will be recorded by several native speakers from different regions (and of different age, gender, ...) someday. The terms should be pronounced in standard language, not in dialect, except for dialect (regional) terms tagged as such.

Audio contributors are asked to provide native/resident country and region (accent) information in their profile. If several factors influenced the accent, please give details using the region (accent) field.

Abbreviations in angle brackets can be recorded if useful (used in verbal communication), but they are not required.

- Placeholders for "somebody" and "something", like sb., sth., jd., etw., jdm., ..., and their equivalents in other languages are written in lower case letters even if they appear at the beginning of an entry.

- English names for plants and animals are not capitalized (exception: places/people as in "Chinese bellflower").

- When using three dots (...) please separate them from the previous (and/or following) word.

- For formatting questions not covered in the guidelines, please check the existing vocabulary for similar cases.
If you don't find clear conventions, please discuss the issue using the Contribute section of the forum or ask Paul before adding or re-opening translations.

- Don't reopen translations in bulk (more than 10 entries, in rapid succession and for the same reason) without prior discussion in the forum. #702202 Also don't reopen if the discussion is still pending.

- Don't use reopen or undelete to create a different translation pair. #718585

- German spelling rules are applied as provided by Duden at https://www.duden.de/.
In case of different opinions about any aspect of the German language decide according to Duden.

- Trade mark entries must include ® or ™ according to the official website of the trademark owner. The trade mark sign is positioned immediately after the trademarked word (separated by a space character). Any gender tag or other information is positioned after the trademark sign.

- Multiple user accounts: It's not allowed to use multiple accounts to manipulate any voting systems, like voting for your own inputs or voting twice for the same entries. Other, non-manipulative uses of multiple accounts are tolerated.

Rules and Conventions: German - French

For types of entries not defined here, just look up similar terms with dict.cc and adjust your formatting accordingly.